One of the first things you need to do when prepping for a test is learn the lingo. SAT Math is prone to using vocabulary that you’ve probably not seen in a while – words like integer, factor, and multiple probably haven’t come up since you were in 7th grade. And even when you saw them in 7th grade, it probably wasn’t in the same context as how they are used on the SAT. So one of the best starting points for the SAT is to learn vocab, both the words common to Sentence Completion questions but also the words common to Math questions. The College Board QOTD on President’s day stumped 60% of the people who tried it and the only things tested are the understanding of a few math terms. Hopefully by the end of this post you’ll head over to the College Board site and be one of the 40%.

On February 10, the College Board posted a Sentence Completion question that bamboozled 219,021 of the 331,851 people that attempted to answer the question. This question once again got us thinking about SAT vocabulary, the way the SAT tests vocabulary, and why so many people got this question wrong. And as usual whenever SAT questions get “stuck in our craw,” we have to blog about it to help you conquer this test.

In our continuing series of SAT Tips, today we’ll show you another way the SAT Writing test applies pronoun rules to questions. (You might want to first check out this older post about pronouns before reading further.) Also remember that the goal of doing the QOTD is to learn at least one thing about the SAT. If you’re not learning from each problem then you’re not getting the most out of your practice. Today’s post teaches us about a couple of the more rare pronouns.

As we’ve stated before, the SAT is standardized, and what that often means is that the types of questions they ask and the type of information they expect you to know reappears over and over from test to test. Today’s question of the day, which a surprisingly small percentage of people got correct, is a great example of how the SAT loves to present Right Triangles. So before we send you off to the College Board’s site to give this question “the old college try,” let’s explore what you need to know about right triangles on the SAT.

One of the best ways to prep for the SAT is to do the SAT question of the day from the College Board. If you’re a high school student you should answer the question and challenge your parents to answer it too (most parents will do better than you in Reading and Writing but you’ll kill them in Math). Each time you do the QOTD, you should be looking to learn at least one thing about the SAT. Something they like to test, some rule that you need to know, some word that you didn’t know, or some great new shortcut for doing a problem more efficiently. If you’re not learning from each problem than you’re not getting the most out of your practice.

While many people talk about SAT tips and tricks, you also have to know a fair number of math rules, terms, formulas, and logic in order to get a top score. When you’re preparing for the SAT, you should focus on learning the rules and terms in conjunction with (or before) worrying about any tricks. You’ll get more points knowing the information tested than you will trying to rely on “tricks.”

Today’s review is Rules of Zero. Before we get to the rules let’s check out a sample problem:

In the world of test preparation, December brings not only presents from Santa but it also brings many gifts from the College Board and colleges. Today’s College Board gift is a copy of the October 2012 SAT, which we get because one of our staff took the test and ordered the Question and Answer Service (for an additional $18, unless you have a fee waiver which will also waive the fee for the QAS if you choose to order it.) The QAS is available for the June, October and Jan SAT administrations each year and whenever its available we get it so we can peruse the test for trends, patterns, and any fun new words the College Board has decided to throw at college-bound students.

If you’re planning to take the SAT soon you should make sure you learn all the words on the list below, which were taken from the October 2012 SAT.

plodding

soothed

novella

modest

incredulity

recrimination

commensurate

indifferent

acclamation

disproportionate

autonomous

expedient

communal

munificent

narcissistic

egalitarian

reciprocal

aroused

perspicacious

phlegmatic

estimable

overbearing

resolute

philistine

polymath

charlatan

ideologue

cultivated

benevolent

pedantic

morose

gregarious

cosmopolitan

cavalier

urbane

erudite

mordant

unequivocal

consensus

pervasive

archetypal

lumbering

behemoths

Belittle

cynical

ambivalent

nostalgic

contempt

embroiled

degraded

underscore

exploit

unravel

foretell

scant

ambitious

timid

vaingloriously

unflagging

indefatigable

complacent

ineffectual

circumspect

baffle

enmity

defy

elucidate

duplicity

collusion

superfluous

pragmatic

onerous

subversive

fraudulent

obliged

supplant

skew

profound

mollify

soporific

insidious

bewildering

indiscernible

If you’d like a few other lists to keep your studying going click here to see the others we posted.

Good luck and remember if you need help preparing for the SAT or ACT visit us at sat.bellcurves.com!

Thanksgiving marks not only the start of the Christmas season but also the beginning of the college process in earnest for many Juniors. Before December brings Santa down your chimney, it will bring PSAT results back to your high schools. The College Board will be sending your score reports back to your schools in the first couple weeks of December, which means you should have your scores in your hand just in time to put them under the Christmas tree. In this post, we’ll break down what the PSAT tells you about the SAT and if it impacts your future SAT score. (You should also check out “What Is The PSAT?” to learn more about what the test is and how it’s used. )

To make sure we can keep you informed about the impact of the security changes and test day experiences we send our teachers in periodically to take the actual SAT. This report was filed by Bell Curves’ own Aimee Slater, resident Jeopardy champ (in our hearts), office redhead, and SAT teacher.

Background – In a few years you won’t remember and no one will care

I took the SAT several years ago (20 still counts as “several,” right?). I was trying to remember my test day experience and my clearest memory about the test is “My high school made me take it 3 times.” (Editor’s note: Aimee attended Haverford College on a generous scholarship and doesn’t remember her SAT scores, but says they were just a bit better than average). I asked some high school friends what they remember, and that was their strongest memory too. My other memory is of the word “nadir.” I didn’t know what it meant, I wrote it on the label of my shirt so that I could look up the definition later (Editor’s note: these days, writing on your clothes might get you kicked out… don’t do it!).

So armed with fuzzy memories and the teaching experience I have obtained through Bell Curves, I sat down to take a modern day SAT on October 6th. I joined a few dozen area teens very early on a Saturday morning to take the test in Brooklyn.

Registration: Longer and More Annoying than You Think

Before I talk about test day, let me say a word about registration. Registering for the exam is at least a 25 minute process wherein you pretty much lay bare anything and everything you have been, currently are and will ever be. I had to upload a picture for my test ticket, which I had to carry with me on test day (even to the loo). The system, it turns out, is really picky about the photos it’ll accept, in fact, I had two perfectly lovely photos rejected before it accepted one I had a colleague take. The photo is not currently a requirement, but will be required starting with the Jan 2013 test. I also had to answer questions about my ethnicity, GPA, class ranking, parents’ level of education, indicate my college preferences (size, location single-sex, programs). It was 3+ pages of questions, many of which are optional, but they are mixed in with the required ones so it’s not immediately obvious which are which. It’s worth noting that “I don’t wish to respond” is one of the choices for all required questions, but still that’s a lot of work on my part without much in return. College Board will then sell my information to schools or publish it in studies. You’re welcome, College Board. You should send me a piece of that financial pie.

Test Day

I dutifully showed up by 7:45am, number 2 lead pencils in hand and calculator (TI-86 was my calculator of choice) at the ready. I was assigned a seat in a classroom with the 19 or so other kids who have R-Z last names.

Here’s some stuff I noticed:

No one cared that I was old and taking the test. I didn’t even get a double take.

Three, 5-minutes breaks are not nearly enough. Powering through that last 1 hour and 4 minutes (sections 7-10) is rough .

Kids were eating candy and drinking Red Bull early in the AM and at breaks. This lead to a lot of crashing in the middle or toward the end.

A girl fell asleep, twice (probably due to a Red Bull crash). The proctor was nice enough to wake her up, but I think that was above and beyond what’s listed as duties in the proctor guidelines, and some proctors would have just let her sleep through the test.

I am still not a fan of coordinate plane geometry but as usual there were about 5 questions.

No section asks 40 questions, and yet each section on the answer sheet has 40 bubbles. I find this vexing.

I miss analogies. The College Board removed them in 2005, and in doing so, took away the fun portion of the test (if there is such a thing).

I did not have to write an essay the first time around, and was excited to do it this time around. I went in knowing that I was going to use The League of Nations and Game of Thrones. As we tell our students – the question hardly matters. Pick a position, have some examples at the ready, and write!

I know some old timers have gone back and taken the test in recent times and had negative experiences. I’m less negative about having to take a test, than about what it’s actually testing. Sitting through long exams is something I had to do in college (3 hour finals!) so I don’t think taking a test is too much to ask of students who want to go to college. The content of the test? Well, let’s just say that I have some disagreement with what and how things are asked. But that’s for a different blog post. For now, this is the system we have, and if our kids want to go to college, we need to work within this system to ensure as many of them as possible are prepared for the test, the admissions process, and college success.

I admit that my stakes are relatively low; I don’t have my admissions decisions or financial aid riding on my 2012 performance, although the College Board will be sending my scores to my high school guidance counselor so that person, whomever it is now, can go over them with me (I didn’t have an option to opt-out). I’m looking forward to that phone call. It was a long day, but most students seemed to sail through (aside from Red Bull Crash Girl. Airheads candy is not the breakfast of champions, chica!), and I think that anyone preparing for the November or December administrations should remember to

review the content – get comfortable with how questions are asked and what information they are looking for

take practice tests under real-test conditions (timed, with only the breaks given on the real test)

For test day:

for Math, strategies like plugging in were still awesome and time-saving and helped me avoid mistakes on at least 7 problems

for the Critical Reading, remember to answer the questions (all the questions) in your own words first (Click here to read up on how to Avoid Looking at the Elephant)

On Friday July 20, two exciting things happened in the Bell Curves office; first, we received our copy of the May 2012 SAT and were able to peruse it for lot of fun vocabulary words and second, we went as an office to see the the Dark Knight save Gotham City. What was especially exciting was that in both the May SAT and Dark Knight Rises, bane played a prominent role! In DNK, Bane is the archenemy of our beleaguered hero and on the May SAT bane was one of the beguiling answers maliciously offered to hoodwink unwary test-takers! As we’ve often told our students, most superhero and villain names are English words that reflect their powers or character. As you enjoy your summer movies remember that there are lots of new words to learn which will help your SAT preparation.

To help you get started here are 100 words from the May 2012 SAT that you should learn. Words which have appeared once on the SAT are very likely to appear again.